


The best way to a man's heart

by neko11lover



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Food Service, Alternate Universe - Future, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-22 00:12:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9573071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neko11lover/pseuds/neko11lover
Summary: What does Echizen Ryoma have to do to get a decent meal around here? Charm the cook, of course.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [that-random-someone](http://that-random-someone.tumblr.com) for this year's [RyoSaku Exchange](http://theryosakuexpress.tumblr.com/tagged/rse2016). I am so sorry this took so long. I swear that everything I’ve been trying to write all end up in some angsty disaster that I kept writing and rewriting.
> 
> Unbeta'd.

 

The Smith International Tennis Center just recently hired a new catering service.  
  
This had been a long time coming and, of all the players on its exclusive membership list, Echizen Ryoma was the most impressed. Especially since it was his handiwork.  
  
It wasn’t in Ryoma’s nature to play the diva card, but food was serious business. He had to eat well to play well - the science was all there. Months of passive-aggressive comments about tasteless oatmeal or overseasoned salmon, as well as the number of meetings and training he had purposefully come late to so he could buy takeout had finally annoyed owner Kevin Smith into submission.  
  
The catering service may have passed the taste test (which, of course, included him in the roster of judges), but he had to make sure that the quality remained high, at least for _his_ share.  
  
-  
-  
  
The smell of freshly-brewed coffee that morning was a good sign, and Ryoma found himself instinctively licking his lips. Caffeine, however, could come later. He had more important things to do.  
  
He ran a hand through his hair, tousling it up a bit, and slapped some color into his cheeks. He tried to soften his face a little with a kind of cat-eyed look, the exact same look that won him countless extra servings of pizza and enchiladas from his middle school and high school cafeteria. He’d been charming cafeteria staff for most of his life now, and Ryoma wasn’t about to end his streak now.  
  
“Good morning, sir!”  
  
Ryoma stopped mid-preen in front of the stainless coffee dispenser at the voice and the smell of - _holy shit_ \- blueberry muffins. He turned and saw a woman around his age, carrying a tray of actual, legitimate-looking pastries. He had to look at her face instead of the food so he could stop himself from drooling.  
  
“Mr. Ryoma Echizen, right?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. Ryoma nodded, and her smile widened. She moved the tray closer to him, almost shyly. “Today’s breakfast are blueberry oatmeal muffins. The ones in white paper are gluten-free. We also have eggs, sausages, and toast, if you’d like those.”  
  
Ryoma silently took one of the muffins as response, as he tried to assess the woman in front of him. She had light brown eyes, flushed cheeks, and light brown hair, and she was definitely cuter than his previous cafeteria conquests. He wasn’t quite sure if he liked that fact.  
  
While reassessing his plans, he took a bite and. _Shit damn_ , that was _good_. He took another eager bite, which made the girl chuckle. Curious, he glanced up at her, and she smiled apologetically.  
  
“‘S good,” he explained through a third bite, which pretty much consumed half of the pastry. But he didn’t care. Kevin should be happy - Ryoma would finally stop annoying him about the food. And when they tasted this, Tezuka and Fuji would also finally understand what Ryoma had been complaining about all this time.  
  
“I’m glad you like it,” she told him sincerely, giving him a nod to urge another bite.  
  
Ryoma nodded dumbly, as he chewed and swallowed. Why was he in here again? He had completely forgotten. He registered that his phone was ringing but dismissed it. Fuck. He couldn’t stop eating.  
  
“I’m Sakuno Ryuzaki. I’m the main cook,” she explained as he ate. “Ah, but you usually won’t see me around here; I just wanted to do a quick look around before the breakfast rush started.” By this time, Ryoma had eaten the whole thing and was gingerly licking the crumbs off of his fingers.  
  
Carefully, he switched into Japanese. “Are you from Japan?”  
  
“Yes!” she exclaimed, grinning. “I’m Japanese through and through. I just moved to the States last year.”  
  
Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the PA bell, followed by Kevin’s voice: “Would our esteemed Mr. Ryoma Echizen please _get the fuck_ in my office for our 9 am appointment? Thanks.”  
  
“I-- I’m so sorry for keeping you,” Sakuno said immediately, bowing her head. “I shouldn’t have---”  
  
“It’s fine,” Ryoma waved her apology off. “How much do I owe you?” He began rummaging through his pocket, but stopped when Sakuno held out a hand.  
  
“That one’s on the house.”  
  
“You don’t have to do that.”  
  
“I _insist_ , Echizen-san.” She looked up at him with a shy smile on her face, complete with a doe-eyed look and flushed cheeks. Ryoma felt a little faint.  
  
“Consider it a gift,” she explained, “from a long-time fan.”  
  
-  
-  
  
The next morning, the center was greeted with a Japanese spread for breakfast. The miso soup tasted like home, the fish was grilled to perfection, and the rolled egg was soft and fluffy. The white rice was the right amount of sticky. The side dishes perfectly balanced the whole meal, and the green tea was _legit_ , none of that Lipton stuff.  
  
As she had told him the day before, though, Ryoma didn’t see Sakuno anywhere. He guessed that she was probably busy in the kitchen, and he really didn’t have any reason to seek her out. Not that he wanted to.  
  
“Any more of that and you’ll snap your neck, Echizen. Are you looking for the cook you told us about yesterday?” It was Fuji, Ryoma’s assigned trainer. He was smiling enigmatically from across the table.  
  
“No,” Ryoma lied glumly, going back to his food. He tried to will himself to stop looking at the kitchen doors, now that Fuji had pointed it out.  
  
“Aw, Mitsu. Our Echizen has a bit of a crush,” Fuji continued, nudging Ryoma’s coach familiarly. “Isn’t it adorable?”  
  
“Echizen, you should focus on practice. Your footwork needs some fixing.”  
  
“I do not,” Ryoma argued, popping a slice of daikon into his mouth. “I told you. She was the one flirting with _me_. And I _am_ focusing, coach.”  
  
“She said she was a long-time fan, Echizen,” Fuji reminded him in a teasing tone. “Sorry to break your heart, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she was coming on to you. Maa, maa. At twenty-five, I thought you’d have a sense for those kinds of things already.”  
  
“But she cooked a Japanese breakfast.”  
  
“Right,” Fuji continued, his level of amusement becoming more apparent. “Because of course, she cooked it just for you?”  
  
Ryoma blinked twice, and then groaned at the realization that he did sound utterly ridiculous. He pushed his now empty tray away from him, and crossed his arms over his chest. Fuji continued to chuckle, and Tezuka refused to be distracted from eating.  
  
“Fine, maybe she _wasn’t_ ,” he said. He looked at Fuji square in the eye. “But I do not have a crush.”  
  
“Whatever you say, Echizen.”  
  
-  
-  
  
It’s been a week and Ryoma was seriously pissed off that he hadn’t seen the girl at all. And no, he did not have a crush. He just hated losing, and felt that he had to prove somewhat to Fuji (and Tezuka, by association), that he was not imagining the flirting.  
  
He was so annoyed, in fact, that he pretty much destroyed all his practice partners during their center’s mini-event in preparation for Wimbledon. Fuji was still amused, and Tezuka seemed content. Kevin was just relieved that his center’s biggest player was finally taking things seriously.  
  
His bad mood had distracted him so much that he almost didn’t recognize the frontline staff serving him lunch that day.  
  
“Here’s your oyakodon and cold tea, Echizen-san.”  
  
Ryoma’s head snapped up at the unexpected Japanese and the familiar voice, and he came eye-to-eye with Sakuno. He opened his mouth to speak, but found nothing to say. So, dumbly, he pressed his lips together before silently getting the bowl and pushing his tray to the cash register.  
  
“Enjoy your meal!” she called out to him.  
  
Ryoma felt heat creep up from his neck to the tips of his ears as he handed over his bill. Fuji’s quiet chuckles next to him did not help.  
  
-  
-  
  
After that, the sightings have happened a little more frequently. Which was supposed to be in Ryoma’s favor, except that he found himself either tongue-tied by Fuji’s little inappropriate quips, or by the fact that he didn’t know what to say. It frustrated him to no end, really, especially when she was almost too nice to him, giving him free extra side-dishes and those blueberry muffins. Constantly.  
  
He was relieved when Kevin slated a practice match for him against now-retired grand slam champion Nishikori Kei which pretty much kept him too busy to worry about her. Tezuka had enforced stricter practice and the center took the opportunity to amp up its PR. Not to mention that both Fuji and Tezuka decided on a stricter diet for him, and had the food delivered straight to their designated strategy room. (‘Less chances for distraction,’ Fuji had teased once, and Ryoma patted himself on the back for successfully ignoring it.)  
  
It went on like that for the following weeks, building up to the big date.  
  
  
The event turned out to be a big thing, despite being a practice match. Kevin’s team had set up the court grandly, almost like it was an official event, and the bleachers were filled with cheering guests and media representatives.  
  
The match itself ran for about two and a half hours. Ryoma managed to take two out of their three sets, but it was a severely close match, highlighting Ryoma’s need to improve his stamina, as well as his backhand so he could stop relying on his hand-switching.  
  
“And there’s also the matter of your serves, Echizen. You need more variety,” Tezuka continued in the strategy room. “After a few serves, your opponent could already anticipate what you plan to do. You shouldn’t take them lightly. I’ll redesign your training; be prepared for it next week.”  
  
Ryoma nodded as he patted his newly-showered hair with a towel. The outcome of the match frustrated him, but the adrenaline he got from it was beyond indescribable. Even then, he was reeling with leftover energy that he was almost disappointed when Tezuka closed his clipboard.  
  
“That will be all for now.” Tezuka turned to Fuji, who clapped his hands together.  
  
“That was a good game, Echizen,” Fuji began. “So Mitsu and I decided that you deserve a reward.”  
  
Tezuka pushed up his glasses with a finger. “It was Fuji’s idea, but it’s not a bad one. Strategic periods of rest are good for you.”  
  
“Just wait a sec, okay?” Fuji stood up and pulled Tezuka along with him to the door. Before disappearing outside, he left Ryoma with a knowing smile and left him an enthusiastic “Enjoy!”  
  
  
Replacing his seniors by the doorway was Sakuno, holding a picnic basket. She looked different, with her hair finally free from the hairnet. She had an unsure expression as she looked around the room, before her eyes rested on Ryoma. She smiled sheepishly as she raised the basket.  
  
Ryoma involuntarily quirked an eyebrow, which flustered the girl. She lowered the basket and started fidgeting.  
  
“I, um, Fuji-san and Tezuka-san invited me to your match and, and I thought I should bring you some food for---”  
  
“I didn’t know your hair was that long,” he deadpanned unblinkingly. “There’s so much of it.”  
  
Sakuno self-consciously reached up to touch her hair and started with an “I-I’m sorry?”  
  
Ryoma shook his head, mostly to snap himself back to reality. This was too unreal, too much of a surprise, and for once, something he didn’t want to kill his seniors for. He pressed his knuckles against his eyes, waving her apology off, before looking back up at her again.  
  
“Let’s redo it,” he said. “Hello, Ryuzaki-san.”  
  
Sakuno blinked in surprise, before understanding what he meant. She smiled at him. “Hello, Echizen-san. Good job with today’s match.” She bowed slightly.  
  
Ryoma nodded for her to come closer. He slid across the bench to free up some space for her. Sakuno took it. She also laid her basket on top of the table, and started unpacking the lunchboxes.  
  
“What are we having today?”  
  
“Katsudon curry, tuna salad, and apple juice,” Sakuno replied perkily. “Aa, and I brought chili, in case you like your curry spicy. Do you?” She tilted her head to the side and Ryoma could swear that his heart just jumped out of his mouth.  
  
“Yeah,” he choked. “Yeah, that sounds good.”  
  
Sakuno smiled at his response, before handing him chopsticks. She began opening the curry and immediately, the smell filled the room. The smell intensified as Sakuno started adding some of the chili into the sauce, before she poured it over the meat. Ryoma hadn’t even realized how hungry he was until then.  
  
He took the share she offered and dug into it immediately. The pork meat was soft, and the curry sauce was the best he’d ever tasted. The vegetables were cut into beautiful cubes (beautiful, god help him for waxing poetic about carrots and potatoes), and Ryoma liked the fact that she fried the potatoes before adding them to the sauce. He closed his eyes in quiet bliss, and Sakuno laughed softly.  
  
“I’m glad you like it, Echizen-san.”  
  
Ryoma finished chewing and started on cutting his next piece of meat.  
  
“Ryuzaki,” he began, as he dipped his piece in the curry sauce.  
  
“Yef?” Sakuno replied, her mouth full with her own food.  
  
“Are you free this weekend?”  
  
The girl almost choked. She reached out to get a glass of apple juice, downing it down as she pounded on her chest. It was too adorable, and Ryoma almost wanted to punch something, mostly his face. He was sure that his face was as red as Sakuno’s at that moment.  
  
After the coughing had died down, and Sakuno had put back her cup, she turned to face him. Her expression was an unspoken question.  
  
“For a date,” Ryoma confirmed with a nod.  
  
At this, she looked down at her feet, and Ryoma watched as the redness colored the back of her neck. He almost choked, himself, when she quietly nodded ‘yes.’ He was lucky to have enough wits about him to pretend that he was cool about it. So, instead of doing anything else, he shrugged.  
  
Sakuno picked up her bento and resumed eating, this time, with a small smile on her face.  
  
  
“Ryuzaki?” He had to settle one, last thing.  
  
“Mm?”  
  
”All the free food,” he began, “You... were flirting with me, weren’t you?”  
  
Ryoma turned to her just as Sakuno did, and their eyes met.  
  
Solemnly, she replied, “I was.”  
  
This time, Ryoma allowed himself a smirk, before he went back to eating.  
  
“I knew it.”  
  
Oh, he most definitely _still_ had it.  
  
The Echizen Ryoma charm never did fail any of its cafeteria conquests.  
  
  
-  
-  



End file.
